Disclaimer: Gosh, do I have to do this every chapter? Seriously. It wasn't mine for the past 6 chapters; what makes anyone think that anything has changed? Sheesh.
A/N: Okay, so this chapter is very sweet and may seem OOC for some, but they needed this, especially after nearly losing Steph! Also, I used creative license here…there is no such place as Sweet Hearts Hall in Newark, I just didn't get a chance to research halls there!
To Jay, as always, you make me believe in me.
To Chessi 66, you motivate me constantly, and know that it's your motivation, encouragement and awesome-ness that keeps me going most times!
To Margaret, thank you for pushing me at the beginning of all of this. And for always giving me great input!
Finally, to Kristina…since you're a guest, I couldn't reply to you, but thanks so much for the encouraging review! Can't mind the haters when I have wonderful reviewers like you!
This is for you'll!
###
Ram POV
I left Ranger's apartment with the reluctance of a 6 year old going to the dentist.
Every part in me screamed at me not to leave her; never to leave her; but I knew Santos was right. Whoever the mole was, he would be reporting to Morelli about this and if he found out we were all up here, they could piece together that Steph had found a way to let us know what was going on, and then the shit would really hit the fan.
There weren't enough vulgar words in the English language to possibly come close to describing how livid I was. I was mad at myself, because I should have protected her. That day that she went to the Tasty Pastry? I was supposed to go with her. We had gone to the bank just before that and I flirted with one of the tellers. She was on her lunch break, so Bomber told me to take her out, and that she would go herself and then head back home or to Rangeman. Had I kept my damn hormones under control, she would have had back-up when she needed it. That cop would never have touched her.
I was also mad at Ranger; we all were. Bomber's been in love with him since day one, and he's loved her just as long. She called it quits with the cop to see if things would go anywhere with the boss and her, and I knew that he hadn't done a lot differently with her. He was making her feel like some cheap entertainment and I resented it. She was so damn beautiful, both inside and out. There was no one in the world like her. How dare he treat her like one of his common bed buddies? Like she was just one of his casual rolls in the hay? If he hadn't, Steph would be happy right now, like she deserved to be.
And then, of course, the majority of my rage was directed at the cop and Bomber's most pathetic excuse of a mother.
I honestly had no idea what made them think they could mess with the beating heart of Rangemen and get away with it alive. I was going to cheerfully beat them to death the next chance I had.
When the elevator stopped on the fifth floor, I hesitated then let it close, redirecting my path to the gym. I was so filled with white hot rage that I knew I wouldn't get any productive work done. I needed to hit something, and since I couldn't get to the cop yet, I would have to settle for a bag.
In next to no time, I was dripping sweat, dressed in only my workout shorts, with bloody knuckles. I had foregone the gloves after a half hour of punching it, needing the physical contact to assuage my rage. I came out of my violent frenzy when I noticed Santos, Brown, Tank, Hector, Manny, Cal and Hal come in. They nodded at me.
"We had the same idea," Santos said tightly. They immediately paired up; Cal and Tank took one ring, Santos and Brown another, Manny and Hector one, leaving Hal and I to go at it. I lashed out in a flurry of jabs and kicks. Hal countered with a series of punches and parries. Eventually, I pinned him down, taking his legs out from under him after letting him get close enough with a punch to the sternum. We were both winded, and shook hands, leaving to watch the rest. Tank had pinned Cal, Hector had pinned Manny and Lester and Bobby were still head to head. If you looked close enough though, you would see that Santos had barely broken out in a sweat and was basically teasing Bobby. I felt a stitch of concern; we all knew that both Lester and Ranger had something, some deadly kind of thing inside them…it was what brought them out of the most FUBAR missions in the world. It was something that was only seen in them in battle, or when one of their own was being threatened. I saw it in both of them with Bombshell today, understandably so. Lester was in control of the beast right now, but I was still worried about Bobby. I knew he would lose this fight… I just hoped it was all he would lose. In the back of my mind, I realised we would have to keep Lester and Ranger from sparring for the time being…or one of them would end up dead, and the other, paralysed for life, and I wasn't sure I was open to the idea of burying Lester and dealing with a cranky, immobile Ranger.
Lester seemed to be getting bored, so with a side sweep that was so fast, you would've missed it if you blinked, he pinned Bobby to the mat. Bobby clapped his shoulder twice in surrender and they came to join us, just as Ranger walked into the gym.
Oh, shit.
"Santos." Ranger's voice was menacingly quiet. It was less of a summon to the mats, for which I was grateful, and more of a silent 'What the HELL?', for which I was confused. What had he done this time?
"You deserved worse, cuz," Lester replied evenly. "Want to take this to the mats? Because I sent a picture of it to Beautiful, and I know it will have made her laugh, so I would do it all over again if that was what it took to make her feel better. I have no qualms meeting you on the mats for this one."
Ranger looked at him contemplatively for a moment, and I wondered what the hell was going on. Bobby caught my look of confusion and sent me a look as if to say "Drop it man, I'll tell you all about it later."
I nodded my assent and watched as the tension between them seemed to mount. Then Ranger held out his fist for Lester to bump. I swallowed my shock, battling not to splutter when Ranger said in an even tone,
"Only because it's her, Santos. But thank you."
Lester nodded and Ranger looked to Tank. Jerking his head towards the mats, he threw his shirt off and walked towards the ring. I was glad he chose Tank; he wouldn't win, no, but he was big enough to be a small problem.
They started off quick, a blindingly fast procession of limps, Ranger seeming to anticipate every one of Tank's moves. We stood enraptured at the beauty of the fight before us. Like his cousin, Ranger didn't fatigue, showing no signs of sweat and not slowing down a second. His muscles were coiled tight, showing us that he too was playing with his prey before he chose to strike. When he did, Tank's face saw the bottom of the mat faster than I could realise Ranger had had enough.
"We have to meet Stephanie tonight, men," Ranger told us as they joined us, Tank limping slightly behind him. "Hector," he nodded at the former gang banger, "gracias, hombre. Para el disturbo el Stark." (Thanks, man. For the riot on Stark.)
"No hay problema, jefe." (No problem, Boss.)
"Quarter after 5, we're meeting her at the abandoned warehouse just off Trenton," he continued. "I know I don't need to tell you how important discretion is with this, gentlemen. We need to fix this; Stephanie is suffering because one of our own decided to betray us. We need to make this right, make her safe again. I don't care what it takes. Be careful around all our contract workers and new hires; hell even our old hands. And by any means necessary, ditch your trackers tonight. Not too obviously, or he will catch on and then we'll have a problem. Understood?"
"Hooah," we barked in unison. Christ, I felt like I was back at the army.
Each of us in our own worlds, we headed to the showers. As I stood under the hot spray, I let my muscles relax. With the calming down of my almost palpable rage, came the crushing grief that the girl I had come to love as a little sister had to endure all that pain. I leaned heavily against the tiled wall, picking my face up to the spray. As I let the grief run its course, my mind began to wonder. I went back to the moment Steph and I had really become friends…
###FLASHBACK###
"Another," I slurred, slamming the empty tequila shot glass on the bar. The bartender looked at me dubiously, evidently wondering whether he could replace my glass and keep his conscience clean.
"Listen, buddy, don't you think…" he tried to reason with me.
"If I wanted to think, would I be in here, pushing down tequila shots?" I asked annoyed.
"Fine, suit yourself," he shrugged, the devil on his shoulder winning out over the angel of his conscience. I was about to down my several hundredth shot for the night when a small, firm hand gripped my upper arm. I put the glass down, intending to level a glare at the person stopping me from having my booze.
Stephanie.
"Enough, Ram," she said softly, coaxing my hand down. I tensed in anger; who did she think she was? We weren't really even friends; we had never properly got acquainted, just an introduction when Cal and I gave her a ride.
"Leave me alone," I growled.
"No," she fired back. I was a little stunned; I was a pretty intimidating guy, and this tiny little slip of a woman was standing up to me. Her guts scored her an inward plus in my mind.
"Leave, Stephanie," I tried again. "I am not your problem. What are you even doing here?"
"I came with Connie and Lula, but I think that you need me more than I need a girl's night out," she explained assertively. She began trying to pull me out of the chair. I resisted, jerking my arm out of hers.
"I do NOT need you," I snarled, knowing my tone would probably get me into trouble with the boss, but not really caring. I downed the shot before she could grab my arm.
"Sure, okay," she agreed, to pacify me. Taking out some bills, she threw them on to the bar next to my empty glass. I started to protest again but she waved me off impatiently. "I got you covered, Ram."
She proceeded to grab my arm and try to drag me out as I grumbled incoherently. Suddenly, I felt very weary, and I followed her the rest of the way to her old Honda. I got in without complaint, and she started the car, buckled us both up and drove. I was silent, both chagrined at being found like this, and also still too trashed to really care. When she pulled up in front of her apartment, I began to argue once more.
"No, Ram," she cut me off. "You're sloshed. You live at Rangemen and Tank will kick your ass for getting drunk. Then he will report it to Ranger when he comes back from being In the Wind, who will undoubtedly kick your ass again before firing you or shipping you off to Tanzania. You will stay here tonight and you will not argue with me about it. Are we clear?"
Feeling thoroughly put in my place, I nodded. We went up to her apartment and she made up the couch for me. In that moment, the tequila made a mean comeback.
While getting re-acquainted with the Toilet Gods, I felt something cool press against the nape of my neck. I barely took a minute to wonder why this girl who hardly knew me was taking care of me like this, when I hurled again. When my stomach was relatively empty of the alcohol I had consumed, she continued to press the cloth against my heated skin, until I took it from her, gratitude filling me. I wondered why, again, but chose to just be glad of the kind hand she was extending.
"Thank you," I said softly.
"Mouthwash is on the sink, sweetie," she replied with a smile. When I got out of the bathroom, I flopped down on to her couch and was out in minutes.
###
I awoke the next day when the sun was shining. I heard the door open and reached for my gun before I realised it wasn't there.
"Shit!" I cursed, trying to spot a weapon, when Stephanie came into view.
"I went to get you The Cure," she explained, brandishing a bag in front of me, completely oblivious to my distress. "I figure you might have an army of Spaniards doing the salsa up in your head right now."
Despite myself, I chuckled.
"Thank you," I grinned, wolfing down the fries and gulping down the Coke. I felt halfway human again, and looked at her in interest.
"What?" she asked, touching her face self-consciously.
"Nothing," I denied, shaking my head and eating another few fries.
"Ram?"
"Yeah?"
"What happened?" she asked hesitantly. "You don't need to tell me, I'm just curious."
I contemplated a moment before deciding to tell her; I mean, she had taken care of me when I wasn't her problem. I owed her some answers.
"I was dating this girl, Tanya," I explained. "I found out yesterday that she was cheating on me. We broke up."
"Ram, I'm so sorry!" she gasped, throwing her arms around me. If I was shocked before, I could fall over with a sneeze now. I returned her hug, trying to get used to being on the receiving end of compassion for the first time after long years.
"I was supposed to take her with me to my brother's wedding tonight," I explained. "He's older than me and he used to mock me a lot as a kid. I told him how I met this beautiful girl who was a doctor and he refused to believe me. Said he'd believe it when he saw it. Now, he's going to think I lied to him and I'll never the end of it."
"Oh, Ram, Sweetheart," she whispered, pulling me into another hug. "I'm really sorry. Your brother seems to be an ass, and that stupid Tanya is an idiot, she has no idea what she' missing out on." She pulled back and kissed my cheek.
"Thank you, Stephanie," I smiled, feeling my heart lighten in the show of friendship.
"Call me Steph," she grinned.
"Ok," I retuned the grin and got up. "I have to go now. The wedding is in Newark, my parents live there, and I need to get going."
"They're having the reception in the Sweet Hearts Hall?" she asked.
"Yeah," I grimaced. "I'm sure looking forward to that."
###
The wedding was beautiful and I had managed to avoid my brother until now. Unfortunately, the reception was for socialising so I could bet that I would have to face him soon.
Sure enough, a clap to my back had me turning around in anticipation.
"Little brother!" he boomed.
"Hey Paul," I smiled at him, shaking his hand. "Congrats, man. I'm happy for you."
"Thanks, little man," he grinned. "Now, where's the hot little doctor you were telling me about? I didn't see her at the ceremony." He smirked.
"Well…" I started, only to be interrupted again.
"She's right here!"
I turned around to see Steph walking towards me, looking drop dead gorgeous in a figure hugging, one-shouldered, empire waist blue dress that made her eyes pop and hit just above her knee, with matching blue strappy stilettos and silver jewellery complete with a silver clutch. In short, she was possibly the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She came right up to me, ignoring my paralysed shock, and kissed me full on the mouth. She pulled back and winked at me. I swallowed twice, wondering what the hell was going on. She must have seen my confusion so, slipping her arms around my waist, she turned to face my brother.
"Hi, I'm Tanya, nice to meet you. I'm so sorry I couldn't make it to the ceremony, but I was called out. There was an emergency; a man was out hunting and he stepped into a bear trap. It was really messy, just so much blood all over, you know? We tried to reattach his leg, but really, it was like trying to stitch together two pieces of a napkin that was soaked in water. His skin was all frayed and torn so we had to just chop the whole thing off," she rambled, making the slicing motion in the air. I tried to hold in my guffaw of laughter at the utter disbelief and nausea on Paul's face. "It's really a pity I missed it," she finished with a smile, "but if I had asked him to wait in theatre for me, he probably would have contracted an infection on the operating table and his whole leg would have begun to rot, just like old fruit, except it's his leg, you know? And we would have to slice off the whole thing, maybe even his more…desirable, man-parts to make sure he didn't die." She shrugged and I barely held in my laughter now. My brother looked positively sickened.
"It's an absolute pleasure, Tanya," my brother choked out. "If you two will just excuse me…" he took off in the direction of the bathroom. I burst out laughing, holding my sides as Steph giggled.
"Hey, Ram," she got out between giggles.
"What are you doing, Steph?" I asked with a chuckle.
"Helping you with your brother," she shrugged. "I hope I'm not being intrusive."
"No, no," I guffawed. "Paul had that one coming! Want to dance?"
"Sure," she smiled brilliantly at me. I led her to the dance floor and we swayed from side to side. "Ram, you shouldn't let your brother have this control over you," she told me. "You're such an amazing guy. You're strong and smart and sweet and honourable…and you need to see that instead of letting him cover your eyes with a blindfold."
I thought about what she said, and realised that she was right. If a girl like her could see me that way, why couldn't I?
"Tanya," Paul appeared at my shoulder. "May I cut in? How about a dance, sweetheart?"
"Don't call her that," I said evenly.
"Chill out, bro, I'm a married man," Paul half smiled, looking at me strangely.
"No," I shook my head with a small scoff. "I mean, don't call her Tanya. That's not her name. Her name is Stephanie Plum."
"Ram?" Steph looked at me, as if questioning whether this was what I really wanted. I smiled at her, feeling clarity for the first time since I walked in on Tanya in bed with her ex. "Paul," I faced my brother. "Tanya cheated on me. I don't care what you think, I'm not lying. We broke up yesterday because I walked in on her with her ex. Ever since we were kids you always mocked and belittled me. You have to stop, bro. I love you, but I will kick your ass. We're grown men, man. I'm a grown man now, and I expect you to treat me like someone who has achieved a lot, because I have. I respect you, man, and I love you. I'd like for you to extend that courtesy to me." I turned away from my shell-shocked brother to Steph. She smiled warmly at me, then took a step closer and wrapped her arms around my neck. Kissing my cheek, she whispered,
"Good for you, Ram. I'm proud of you." She turned to my brother and said, "You should be very proud of your little brother, Paul. He saved so many lives in the army and he continues to do so. He's sweet and charming and honourable and deserving of more respect. I'm sorry to do this and say this on your wedding day, but unless you want to lose your little brother, I suggest you get your head out of your ass and see in him what the rest of the world sees."
She took my hand and tugged me to the open bar.
"I'm okay," I smiled at her before she could ask. "Really."
"I'm glad," she replied with a soft smile. We danced a few more songs then we both sat down with a cocktail.
"Little brother?" I heard Paul behind me. "Can we talk?"
I got up and walked outside, being sure to grab Steph's hand and pull her with me. As far as I was concerned, anything that needed to be said could now be said in front of her.
"I'm so sorry, Bro," Paul said before I could say anything. "I never realized how much the teasing hurt you, and I really never realized it when the teasing became mocking. When we were kids, I loved that you looked up to me, and I know I said a lot of things that I shouldn't have. I just never thought of how belittling it could be. Of course I'm proud of you, man! So proud! You're a war hero, you've saved lives, risked your own life for people you don't even know day after day! I never thought to tell you, and that was wrong, but I am very, very proud of you, little brother. As for that skank of a doctor lady… I always believed you, bro, I just wanted to tease you about it. I realize that after so many years, it's just old and annoying. I can't believe she cheated…man, as soon as I'm back from this honeymoon, you and me, we're gonna hunt the asshole down and tear him to pieces. I think our honorary little spitfire here," he nodded at Steph with a chuckle and a wink, "will have no problem taking on the skank. I love you, man. I'm so sorry for ever making you doubt that." He pulled me into a hug, holding me there for a moment before releasing me with a clap to the back. Warmth flooded inside me; I had never gotten much praise form Paul growing up and, old as we were, I still looked up to him.
"I love you, too, man," I grinned. "Thanks for saying that."
"I mean it, bro," he responded.
"Aww!" Steph squealed, eyes bright with tears. "That's so sweet!"
"You spoke about cutting off a man's unmentionables without so much of a flinch, but you're crying because I told my little brother that I loved him?" Paul asked with a disbelieving smirk.
"Oh, shut up," Steph sniffled. "That was just so sweet." I chuckled and pulled Steph into a hug. Paul pulled her away from me, crushing her to him for a second.
"Thanks, honey," he said softly to her. "You made my brother see in himself what I've been blocking him from for years and did for me the same thing. You fixed something I didn't even know was faulty, before it could break completely, and we'll always be grateful for that. Consider yourself our honorary little sister from now on, okay?"
"It was a pleasure," Steph smiled. "I'm just so glad you'll worked things out. And I would be flattered to be an honorary member of the family."
He kissed her forehead and with another wolfish grin, he was gone. I couldn't put my gratitude into words, so I simply pulled Steph again to my chest. She hugged me and pulled back with a questioning look at me.
"Thank you, Steph," I said simply, for the millionth time in two days. "Thank you."
Two words had never seemed so wholly inadequate.
###END FLASHBACK###
I stepped out of the shower and changed quickly into cargoes, boots and a black Rangeman shirt.
I needed to make some calls…it was time to protect my honorary little sister. Care for her the way she cared for me.
###
Steph POV
I left the house at half past 4, having attempted to make dinner and left it in the warming oven. I tried to make meatloaf, with my own, personal, extra special ingredient added in.
I was equal parts scared, nervous and determined. Tough as I was trying to act, I was scared at what Joe might do to me. I was terrified that I would get so badly hurt that there would be permanent damage and I was worried he might get the opportunity to rape me, because he would try and it sure as hell wouldn't be consensual. I was nervous that my plan was going to backfire, and I would be putting all the people I love at risk. I was determined, because no-one messed with my loved ones and got away with it! I was taking Morelli down, as I promised him in Pinos all those months ago, and his fall from grace was going to be a damn spectacular one.
Rangeman SUVs were already parked there when I arrived. I knew instinctively that Ranger would have had the place checked out before I arrived.
As soon as my car switched off, Ranger was at my door. He pulled me out and crushed me to him, as though the few hours of separation had killed him. In all honesty, I thought the world was coming to an end when I had to leave him, but those feelings were for people who loved each other. Ranger didn't love…me?
My thoughts were pleasantly interrupted by the smouldering kiss he pressed to my lips.
"Babe." He whispered, pulling away from me. He scanned my body quickly. "No new injuries?"
"No," I mumbled. "Thank you, Ranger. For all of this. For helping me."
"No price Babe," he pressed a kiss to my jugular and then nuzzled my throat.
I smiled up at him then went around, hugging each of the men in turn, rubbing off Hector's teardrops and kissing Cal's flaming skull. They looked at me, waiting for me to start this.
"Thank you, guys, for taking time off to come here," I started. "Thank you for helping me. This is one big screw-up and I'm grateful for the help. I don't know how I'll ever thank you'll enough, but…"
"Stop, Beautiful," Les ordered. He came up to me and wrapped me in a protective hug, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "We once told you that you were our family. We meant that. And Beautiful? We protect our own. Remember?" I smiled brilliantly at him, thanking the stars for this group of wonderful men who would freeze hell over for me. How on this earth did I deserve them?
"Angel?" Cal stepped forward. "Before we start with the plan, we all have some things we wanted to say to you. Honey, you told us that you believed what Morelli and your all-screwed-in-the-head mother had to say. Do you trust them more than you trust us?"
"Christ, no!" I exclaimed. "How could you even ask me that, Cal?"
"If you trust us more, will you believe what we have to say?" he persisted.
"Yes, of course, Cal…where are you going with this?"
"Beautiful," Les stepped away from me. "We have some things we'd like to say to you."
With that, Les walked to the men. They lined up, facing me; Hector, Cal, Manny, Hal, Ram, Tank, Bobby, and Lester. Ranger came to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I leaned back against his chest instinctively and waited in trepidation. Were they sick of how weak I was?
Hector stepped forward first.
"Angelita…Hermana. Long ago, I tell you, you are my angelita. My light, because I am dark. I mean it. Angelita brings light to a dark soul…te quiero, hermanita. I love you, my little sister. I protect you. Perra es mama and pendejo Morelli know nothing, Angelita."
Tears were already pooling in my eyes when Hector finished. Hector hardly ever spoke, unless we were alone, so this made it all the more meaningful to me.
"Gracias Hector," I smiled a wobbly smile at him as he came to hug me. "Te quiero, Hermano." I tried to imitate his pronunciation and he smiled warmly at my attempt.
"Angel." Cal stepped forward next. "You and I were always friends, but that day at the diner, you became a sister. You took on gossipers in a room full of people because they said something nasty about me," he elaborated for the sake of the others, I'm sure. "I'm a hardened Navy SEAL, honey, but still you protected me as though I needed it. It was the fact that you had my back that touched me most. Not many people have before, and I don't have many people I trust with my life, but you easily became one of them. I love you, Steph, and I'll always have your back the way you had mine. Anyone in your life who doesn't see how damn amazing you are, is not worth having around at all."
"Thank you, Cal," I whispered when he hugged me too. "I'll always have your back too."
Manny was next. "Wifey, you gave more a damn about me than some people I had known for years. When I got shot that day, you showed me more care and compassion and concern than I had seen or experienced in long years. I'll never be able to repay you for giving me a sense of family, but know that I'll always be in your corner. Love you, Wifey."
When he hugged me, I simply held on tight. I didn't know what to say to that, I just hoped he could feel my emotions through the gesture.
Hal hugged me before he spoke. "Bombshell, you stunned me with my own stun gun when I had just started at this job," he chuckled. I blushed and smiled.
"Sorry Hal," I said sheepishly.
"Don't be, Bomber," he grinned at me. "It was you doing that that brought me out of my slump, in a way. When the guys teased me, I retaliated, and I became friends with them in a way I never thought possible. Then, when my grandfather died, you showed me that you were there for me too. You asked Ranger to give me time off before I even thought about it and came with me to his funeral. You stayed the whole night with me and my family, knowing I was close to him and just being there for me. No-one outside of my family had ever done something that sweet for me before, and I hardly even knew you. I know I may not joke around with you as much as the other guys, but it's not because I don't love you, Bomber. I do. You're the best."
By the time Ram stepped up, I was openly crying.
"Sweetheart, you bailed me out of trouble," he winked at me, "and went above and beyond what anyone would have done for me. You let me see myself in a way that I haven't, ever, and it made relationships in my family better because of it. I'll always owe you, and we meant it when we said you were to consider yourself our honorary sister. Hell, Paul doesn't even know the story and he wants in on whoever hurt you. Honey, we'll always be right here when you need us. We love you."
"Little Girl," Tank started now, "I don't know what could ever make you think of yourself as anything less than extraordinary. We all have so much to thank you for, above all the light that you bring to Rangeman. The light that you bring to my lug of a best friend's life," he jerked his head to Ranger with a shit eating grin. Ranger flipped Tank off but aimed a 1000 watt smile at me. "Little girl, you're our Bomber. Our Bombshell. You once helped me out, when I had problems with Lula, and you did it without expecting anything in return. Well, Bomber, you got something; you got my undying loyalty and friendship. I love you, Little Girl." He pulled me off my feet and I clung to him, my legs dangling, hiding my face in his neck.
Bobby put his arms around me and lowered me from Tank, keeping his arms around my shoulders while he spoke.
"Sweetheart, ever since day one, I've been patching you up from scrapes, bruises, broken bones, stab wounds, gunshot wounds…you name it. Hell, sometimes, I think of myself as your medic, rather than Rangeman's, because I am always going to heal you above and beyond everyone else. Bomber, knowing that I can take pain away from you is the most rewarding thing in my life, because if I can make someone as simply amazing as you hurt less, then God, I must be doing some good in this God-awful world. Honey, I may heal you physically, but what you don't know is that you healed me the minute I saw you. You healed my heart. I had patched you up from God-knows-what, and you grabbed me in a hug and told me that I was Godsend, because I could make people's pain go away. You didn't know, but it was at a time when I was wondering why I ever got into medicine. You reminded me, honey. I'll always heal you, Sweetheart. I'll always love you."
I sobbed now, as it was getting to be so much. How was it that I had had such an impact on these amazing men's lives? With the tears, I found that hearing this gave me hope. Like Bobby said, if I could make the bad stuff go away for them, then surely I must have been doing something in this world right? Surely I wasn't as much of a failure as everyone else thought?
"Beautiful."
My best friend needed only to say one word, and I was in his arms. He held me tight to him and breathed in deeply.
"Beautiful, when you told me that you thought your mom and the asshole cop was right, I swear I have never felt more horrified. I don't know where along the line you started to doubt how perfect you are, Steph, but I will continue to make sure you always see it. Beautiful…you know, you're the only woman in the whole world I call that. It's because it's the only word in the English language that comes remotely close to describing what I see when I look at you, inside and out. Your beauty isn't skin-deep; you have the most amazing soul, and it shines through making you just that much more beautiful, Beautiful," he cracked a smile at me. I tightened my arms around his middle. "You saved me from myself all that time ago, Beautiful. You saved me from a downward spiral that I may not have come back from. You lifted the weight of the world from my shoulders with a simple song, a piece of cake and hug and friendly ear. I may be the soldier, sweetheart, but you were the one to save me. You're my best friend, Steph. My family. I would say sister, but I was hoping for kissing cousins or something?" he wagged his eyebrows at me, licking his lips suggestively. I giggled through my tears and Ranger growled.
"Santos, don't make me have to kill you," he snarled. "Tia Maria would be so upset with me."
"Whatever, cuz," Les chuckled, surreptitiously holding me in front of him. "You know she would have picked me if I saw her first."
I giggled again then hit Lester's chest.
"Don't think so, Les," I teased. "What's better than a Cuban sex God? Besides, Ranger has better cars."
"Babe." Ranger looked at me, half amused, half exasperated.
"Ah," Les sighed dramatically, "and the Turbo wins the girl again. Oh, Fate, how you mock me so!"
"Les," I giggled, hitting his chest again, "I don't even know what you're saying now!"
"Beautiful," he sent a dazzling smile my way, green eyes shining with so much obvious love and adoration that tears streamed from my eyes again. "I'm saying that you're my little sister. I love you…so freaking much. I would do anything for you, always. And I'll never turn my back on you." he leaned down and kissed my forehead before pulling me tightly against him, dropping another kiss against my temple as he did. "I love you very much, Beautiful. Don't ever doubt or forget that."
I sobbed openly into my best friend's shirt, not thinking about whether I deserved such amazing guys in my life, rather accepting that I had done something to keep them there. I pulled back and tried to control the tremor in my voice.
"Guys, you have no idea what it means to me to hear you all say that. My whole life, I've been faced with people who never loved me the way you guys do. Save for my Grandma Mazur and my dad, of course. I want you to know that I really appreciate it and I love you all too. So very, very, very much. I would do anything for you guys too."
And I would. As I looked into the loving faces of each of the men in front of me, I knew I would move hell, heaven and every mountain and ocean in between for them. They were my family.
###
Ranger POV
I made a mental note to ask Babe about some of the stories that were being relayed. Who was Paul? What had she saved Lester from? And since when did Hector talk? The love on each of my men's faces was so obvious a blind man could have seen it. What had this little Burg girl done to all these badass mercenaries? I chuckled inwardly. She had done to them what she had done to me.
She had touched our hearts.
I saw the love on her face and in her eyes, and I knew that she knew, finally, what she meant to my men.
Now, she just needed to know what she meant to me.
"Babe."
She turned to look at me, eyes widening slightly in anticipation. I took her face in my hands and kissed her forehead, then both her cheeks, then the tip of her nose and finally, brushed a tender, warm, loving kiss against her lips, not caring for once who saw me, and how whipped and soft they'd think I'd become.
"Babe, everything they said was the furthest from the truth. Above everything else, YOU ARE NOT MY WHORE. You're my best friend. You're my Wonder Woman. You're the beating heart of Rangemen and the light in my life. You're…you're my Babe." I pulled her close to me. Tucking her head into my chest, I stroked her hair, revelling in being so close to her since the separation from her this morning had felt like it near killed me. I whispered to her, "And we're going to finish our talk, Querida. Soon. And I'm going to get you out of this. I'm going to be your Batman, Babe, I swear it."
"I know, Ranger," she murmured. "You always save me. You've always been my Batman."
She pulled away and smiled at me and for the first time since this morning, my heart lifted.
"Men, we need to get to work," I said assuming a commanding voice while pulling my Babe into my side. A thought struck me.
"Babe, when he gets home…we need to find a way to make sure he can't get to you tonight." Worry stung my insides and I tried to find a way around the situation when Babe started laughing.
"Oh, I got that one covered, Batman," she chuckled evilly.
I raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed harder.
"I connected with my inner Les," she explained between giggles. "He asked me to have dinner ready and be prepared to service "his boys."
I growled, murderous rage building in me at the thought of that pendejo's hands anywhere on my Babe.
"I got dinner ready…along with my own special ingredient," she smirked, with an evil look in her eyes.
"Babe?" I asked with an almost smile. I could see my men, too, were interested to know.
"Oh, you know, Batman," she said airily. "A little bit of spice…some pepper…a generous dash of Exlax…"
My men burst out laughing, Lester the hardest of all, and I barely contained my own guffaw. Babe smiled gleefully and began to giggle a little. Lester got over his initial hysterical laughter and pretended to tear up.
"Oh, my baby girl is growing up so fast," he mock sniffled. "I'm so proud, I taught you so well, Beautiful!"
Steph burst into giggles and I watched as all of our hearts, mine included, visibly lifted at the sound.
I smiled at her, my 1000 watt smile, and said the only words I could think to say at that moment.
"Proud of you, Babe. You never disappoint."
###
A/N: Aww, so sweet, Batman! Haha! Okay, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter and Ram's memory! This was quite a long chapter, longer than my other ones…Action coming up in the next update! It's getting real ;)
Drop me a review, please…they make me write faster! Enjoy! -JazMitch
